


Different

by chickfilgay



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Telekinesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2020-05-15 02:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chickfilgay/pseuds/chickfilgay
Summary: Dan didn't want to find out he was Omnikinetic. He didn't want to be able to control anyone or anything's actions by just thinking it. He didn't want this power. And he sure as hell didn't want to posses three of the four elements, fire, water, and air. He just didn't want to cause any damage. Everyone thought that might be why he was so cold. Or maybe it was from being at Apharce Academy, a school for children who possessed abilities, since he was fourteen.Phil Lester never really had many friends. The fact that he was telekinetic and could manipulate plants because of his Chlorokinesis didn't help. When his parents found out, they knew it was law to send him to Apharce.Phil didn't understand why Dan was so cold and filled with hatred for everyone, and Dan never understood how Phil could be so happy in the situation they were in. But Phil was determined to find out more about Dan, and maybe help him more than Dan thought anyone could.





	1. Chapter 1

It was clear that Phil was anxious. He kept shifting his weight from side to side, his hands were sweating, and he had so much nervous energy he could run a mile or two. But still, Phil had to continue with the cause of his anxiety. Phil had to walk through the barrier, leaving his family behind.

He had to go to Apharce Academy.

He would've told his parents that he would stay in contact, but he was not permitted contact with anyone outside Apharce. His family would have never sent Phil here if it wasn't law that they had to.

Phil was obligated to go to Apharce Academy because he was "different".

Phil didn't want to be telekinetic and chlorokinetic. He could care less if he could control plants, or move objects with his mind. He just wanted to be with his family.

Phil hugged his parents one last time, forcing himself to stay strong, to not cry. If he cried, so would his parents. He didn't want to make them upset.

Empty promises of seeing each other soon were made, even though everyone knew exactly what they were: little lies, to help ease the pain of not seeing each other for four years. Phil wasn't allowed to leave until he was twenty.

Phil finally left his parents, and walked through the forcefield.

Phil was now standing on a bridge, a grand castle before him.  _I'm attending Hogwarts, aren't I?_  Phil thought.

The castle was incredible, with beige stone building up to present rose pink and pastel blue peaks. The turrets made the castle double in size, and seemed to hold either classrooms or dormitories. Phil had been told the word Apharce came from Latin, translating to "evergreen", and soon Phil realized where the school got its name from. Surrounding the castle was a bright forest, a meadow filled with wildflowers being the only thing separating the castle from the evergreen.

Phil didn't even notice the man who had approached him from the castle because he was staring at the castle.

"You're Mr Lester, am I correct?" The man said. His voice was sweet but stern, and he had authority placed throughout his facial expression.

"Yes, sir." Phil responded weakly.

"I'm Professor Baker, the headmaster of Apharce Academy. Welcome, Mr Lester. Come, let me show you around, and escort you to your dormitory. Your bags will be in your dormitory when we arrive there."

Phil had almost forgotten about the suitcases and backpack he had brought with him. He set his backpack on the ground with his suitcases, and followed Professor Baker down the bridge, and through the archway connecting the bridge to the courtyard.

Professor Baker showed Phil where his classes, the dining hall, library, and common areas were, but Phil barely payed attention. He was too caught up in noticing all the plants adorning the corridors, and discretely helping wilting ones perk up once more.

"And lastly, this is your dormitory, floor five, room B20. You have a beautiful view of the courtyard and forest, I wouldn't have requested a better view for myself. You'll have your first classes tomorrow, but for now, get settled into your room, and join us for dinner in the dining hall."

"Thank you, Professor," Phil said as Professor Baker left Phil alone in his new room.

The room was quite bland. There was a dresser at the end of the a full bed, a small beside dresser next to it. There were a couple shelves on the side of the wall near the door leading to the corridor, and on the side of the room opposite the bed there were two doors: one a small closet, and the other a bathroom with a shower.

Even though the room was bland, Phil believed the Buffy posters and family photos he brought would help bring a more homey feel to it.

Professor Baker was right, Phil's bags were already in his room. Phil decided to unpack before dinner, hanging his posters, attaching a string of lights to the shelves he had previously adorned with a few books, school supplies, and his ukulele, and thumbtacking the pictures of him and his family on the wall near his bed. He even added the houseplant that he was able to save after being mangled in a suitcase to his bedside table. Phil was just happy to have a plant in his room, as a little reminder that why he was here was a good thing, not a bad one.

As Phil unpacked his suitcases and started putting away his clothes, he noticed the school uniform in the closet: black dress pants with a white shirt and a black blazer which had an evergreen tree embroidered onto it, along with a black tie. Phil decided to wear his own clothes to dinner, bringing one last reminder of the morning with his family with him.

Phil had almost made it completely to the dining hall himself when he noticed someone: the boy had his blazer unbuttoned, and his tie was hanging around his neck, undone. His shirt collar wasn't folded down neatly, instead it was standing upright around the boy's neck. His curly hair was neatly in place, and he had an expression on his face that Phil thought was the definition of "I don't give a shit".

Phil didn't realize he bumped into him, literally.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Phil stumbled over his words as the boy turned around.

The boy smiled, slightly amused. "What's your name?"

"Phil Lester."

"Well, watch the hell where you're going, Lester." the boy motioned with two fingers towards Phil's legs, and almost instantly, Phil was knocked over by a gust of wind.

"Cut it out, Howell! Leave him alone!" Phil heard someone yell at the boy.

"And why should I listen to you, Liguori?" The boy asked, even more amused than before.

"I don't think you'd like to end up in a weekend detention for attacking the new kid who's rumored to be just as powerful than you."

"Bullshit," the boy spat.

"He has two abilities too. You're not the only one. You always were, but now you're not. So I suggest you leave, before you find out exactly how much it hurts to be bitten by a fox."

"Screw you," the boy said, and made his way to the dining hall, clearly mad.

Phil saw a hand extended towards him, and Phil grabbed it, getting to his feet.

"Sorry about him, he's like that with everyone. I'm PJ."

"I'm Phil." Phil smiled.

"You can sit with me at dinner, if you'd like." PJ offered.

"I'd love that, thank you." Phil followed PJ through the doors of the dining hall.

"Who was the kid that knocked me down?" Phil asked PJ as they walked.

"That's Dan Howell. He's trouble, and he's powerful too. He can control fire, air, and water, and he's omnikinetic - which is easiest described as mind control. You're supposedly the only one as powerful as him."

"Really?" Phil questioned, "I'm only telekinetic and chlorokinetic. I'm not really that special, unless you count being able to turn off the lights from across the room and reviving dying plants special, that is."

"That sounds pretty special to me. Plus you have two abilities, which is more than everyone else but Dan. So you're already close to matching him, and he's not gonna like that."

Phil and PJ arrived at the table they were going to sit at. There was a girl sitting there already, playing with a ball of lightning between her hands.

"Phil, this is Dodie,"

"Hi!" Dodie said, still playing with the ball of lightning sparking from her fingertips.

"Ms Clark, put the lightning away!" A teacher passing shouted at Dodie.

"I hate Professer White so much," Dodie mumbled as PJ and Phil sat down across from her. "He hates when we use our abilities, but I think it's just because he's scared." Dodie looked annoyed, but quickly smiled at Phil. "What can you do, Phil?"

Phil looked at the book Dodie had sitting on the table, and Dodie smiled as she watched it float into the air, and slowly fall back down. Phil then noticed a flower Dodie had tucked behind her ear looked as if it was wilting, so with two fingers, he motioned upward at the flower and it looked like it was freshly picked.

"You have two abilities?" Dodie asked.

Phil nodded.

"Wow, Howell's not the only one now," Dodie smiled.

"What is his problem anyway?" Phil asked.

"That's the thing: no one knows," PJ said.

"No one knows because no one's been his friend. He's not the friendly type," Dodie added.

"Oh," Phil responded quietly.

It was that moment that Phil promised himself something.

Phil would not be scared of Dan Howell like everyone else was.


	2. Chapter 2

Phil woke up to the sound of his alarm going off, and threw his pillow at his alarm clock in a desperate attempt to get a little more sleep.

 

He only woke up when he heard the sound of ceramic falling over on his dresser

 

"Planty!" Phil cried when he realized what the sound was, and finally got out of bed to check on his houseplant. 

 

Planty was still in tact, just tipped over, some soil spilling onto Phil's dresser. Phil sighed, relieved that his plant was still alive, and scooped the misplaced soil into his hands, carefully adding it back into the plant's pot.

 

Phil's alarm went off again, and Phil shut it off, giving up on his last attempt at sleep to get ready for school.

 

* * *

 

Dodie had promised Phil that she would help him find his classes since she had all the same classes as him. She and Phil walked into their first period class, and Dodie took her seat, motioning to the only empty seat for Phil: one right next to Dan.

 

Everyone in the classroom gave Phil pitiful looks as he walked to the empty seat, true sympathy displayed on their faces. But Phil didn't care that he was sitting next to Dan. He was happy he was. He wanted to get to know Dan more.

 

Phil sat down in the desk next to Dan.

 

"Hi!" Phil said quietly to Dan.

 

Dan looked at Phil, studying him.

 

"You're that kid from last night. Lester, right?"

 

Phil nodded.

 

"I'm gonna say this once, and hopefully I make it clear enough the first time. You think your power is a blessing, that this place isn't as bad as it seems?" Dan whispered.

 

Phil nodded again.

 

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but it's a goddamn curse. This is a hellhole, and the people here don't give a shit about you. The only person that cares about you is you, the other people here could shrug off your death. Your just a number. A statistic. Not even a face. You're insignificant. You're not going to get a good job, or have a family. The same for everyone here. We're different, Lester, and we're gonna get shit for it for the rest of our lives, so accept it now. And while your at it, leave me the hell alone."

 

The bell rang for class to start as the teacher walked in, and Dan leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on his desk, leaving Phil taken aback.

 

* * *

 

"You wanna talk about it Phil? I saw him snap at you first period," Dodie said softy to Phil, who was sitting next to PJ at lunch.

 

"I'm fine, I just...I guess I didn't realize he was that cold."

 

"That was nothing compared to other things he's done," PJ said, "he set a kid's hair on fire once. Be glad he just got mad at you"

 

"Point taken," Phil said.

 

"You have your training next, right Phil?" Dodie tried to change the subject.

 

"Yeah, it's with Professor Baker," Phil said, reading his schedule.

 

"Baker never gives training to anyone. Well, anyone except Howell," Dodie said, clearly shocked.

 

Phil looked up from his schedule, and saw Dodie's expression. He turned to PJ who had the same shocked expression as Dodie plastered across his face.

 

"Great," Phil said, sarcasm lacing his words. "I love being special."

 

"It might not be a bad thing. All the other teachers are terrible at training. Baker is the only one who seems to know what he's doing," PJ added.

 

The bell rang for last period, and Phil said goodbye to his friends before heading to his training. 

 

* * *

 

Phil was greeted in a completely empty room by Professor Baker.

 

"Hello, Mr Lester," Professor Baker said. "Today, we will be testing how powerful you are, and the current limits of your abilities."

 

"Okay," Phil said, trying to hide how nervous he was.

 

"I want you to start by growing plants out of the floorboards."

 

Phil nodded, and sat on the ground, touching the floorboards on either side of him with his palms. Phil shut his eyes in concentration, and soon, grass and wildflowers surrounded the room, only small circles where Phil sat and Professor Baker stood were left untouched. 

 

"Thank you, Mr Lester. Now, can you make a flower crown out of some of the flowers you grew?"

 

Phil smiled, and pointed at two flowers. They floated out of the floorboards, and Phil started intertwining them in front of Professor Baker in the air with one hand guiding them, the other hand picking up new flowers and adding them to the crown. A few minutes later, a perfectly woven flower crown floated towards Phil and landed on his head.

 

Phil looked at the walls, and saw them inching closer.

 

"Stop the walls." Professor Baker now smiled.

 

"What the hell?" Phil mumbled, and put his hands out, trying to stop the walls with his telekinesis. the walls halted for a moment, but soon started to move in again at a much slower pace.

 

Phil pushed as hard as he could, now almost screaming, trying to gather as much force as he could.

 

Soon the walls stopped moving, and Phil collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

 

"Right. Well, that was enough for today Mr Lester." 

 

Professor Baker then noticed Phil on the ground. 

 

"Mr Lester, are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

 

"No, I'm okay," Phil said, finally standing up after he caught his breath.

 

"Well, you can head to your room until dinner, and I'll see you tomorrow at this time."

 

"Thank you, Professor." Phil said leaving the room, still wearing the flower crown he had woven.

 

* * *

 

Phil made his way to his room, but halfway there, he started to feel dizzy. 

 

 _Shit_ , he thought as the room started to sway. He moved as fast as his could for how disoriented he felt, trying to find someone. He saw a blurry figure he couldn't make out right before he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

Phil woke up in the infirmary, PJ sitting in the chair next to his bed.

"What happened?" Phil asked PJ.

"We think Baker pushed you too far, and you used too much energy. The same thing happened to Howell during his first training, even though he won't admit it. The good thing is Baker knows your limits now, so this shouldn't happen again. Miss Parker, the head of the infirmary, said you could go to your room, but not to attend any classes today."

"It's the next day?" Phil asked PJ

PJ nodded.

A woman who appeared to be in her early twenties walked up to Phil.

"Good, you're awake. I'm Miss Parker. PJ will take you back to your room in a few minutes after I make sure your powers are stable again."

Miss Parker held a wand up to Phil, and waved it in front of Phil. It lit up green, which must have signified that his powers were stable, because she asked PJ to take Phil to his room.  
  
  


When they arrived at Phil's room, Phil thanked PJ.

"Anytime. If you need anything, find me or Dodie, okay?"

Phil nodded, and entered his room.

When Phil closed his door, he decided to change out of his uniform and rest. That was when Phil noticed a piece of paper in his shirt pocket that he didnt put there. He took it out, and unfolded it. There was a message scribbled on it in somewhat messy handwriting, in all capital letters.

_DON'T TRUST BAKER_

Phil didn't know who it was from, but whoever wrote it must have been the person who took him to the Infirmary. Phil tore the note into pieces, and put in in the trash can next to his bedside table.  
  
  


Phil tried to forget the note. He changed into an graphic tee shirt and sweatpants, took a book off his bookshelf, and got into bed to read.  
  
  


* * * *  
  
  


It was midnight when Phil finally decided to get some fresh air. He couldn't sleep because of the note that was hidden in his pocket earlier, and he thought he might get tired if he took a walk in the moonlight. The stars always fascinated him anyway.

Phil quietly closed the door to his room, and made his way to the courtyard. Every time he saw a plant wilting in the hallways, he stopped to help it, which was time consuming, but it made Phil happy, so he kept doing it. He saw a flower bed, and picked the flowers, weaving them into a flower crown, and regrowing identical flowers in the original ones' place. The flower crown floated to Phil's head, and Phil smiled.

Phil had almost entered the courtyard when he heard someone screaming.

"Get off me you son of a bitch!"

The same person who had been screaming cried out in pain.

Phil peaked around the corner.

It was Dan, and three teachers were trying to grab him, and throw him into a truck that was in the courtyard. Dan seemed powerless. He seemed hurt.

Phil needed to help.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Phil screamed as he became visible to everyone.

All eyes were on him.

One of the teachers left Dan to attack Phil, while the other two still struggled to load Dan into the van.

Phil pushed the teacher back into the grass with his telekinesis, and before she could get up, vines grew around her, pinning her to the ground. Phil then went to help Dan. One of the other teachers left Dan, and swung a punch at Phil, knocking him to the ground.

"Leave him out of this you bitch!" Dan screamed, but only got slapped by the teacher struggling to pull him off the ground, causing him to curl further in a ball.

Phil forced himself to get up despite the pain he felt, and threw the teacher into the van with a flick of his wrist. He motioned at the grass, causing vines to break the windows and tie the teachers hands together and then to the van. Phil then pulled the last teacher off of Dan, and flung him into the van, a wave of his hand slamming the door and another flick of his wrist wrapping vines against the door, making it so they couldn't get out.

Phil then ran to Dan.

"Are you okay?" Phil asked.

Dan nodded. "Can you take this cuff off my arm? It cuts off my powers," Dan's voice was quiet. Phil could tell he was weak.

Dan started talking as Phil took the cuff off his arm."Now here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna hide, and while I make them forget this happened and go to their rooms after we have enough time to leave, you're gonna make the vines disappear so they don't know you were involved in this."

Phil nodded, and he helped Dan up, starting to run to hide, but stopped when Dan fell over. Phil went back, and threw Dan's arm over his shoulder, helping Dan get to a place where they would be hidden.

Phil watched Dan close his eyes in concentration, and he slowly started to remove the vines. After a little bit, Dan opened his eyes.

"We have five minutes, and if we go to my room or the infirmary another group of teachers might find us."

"Let's go to my room, then."  
  
  


* * *  
  
  


Phil closed the door to his room and locked it as Dan stumbled to sit on Phil's bed.

"If you don't mind me asking, what the hell was that?"

"That was a bunch of teachers who also work for the government trying to send me off to be used to try to find a cure for our abilities." Dan smiled ironically.

"Um,  _What_?" Phil almost screamed.

"You heard me."

Phil noticed Dan holding his arm.

"You're hurt, aren't you?" Phil asked.

"What?"

"Your arm."

"I'm fine. Besides, you can't take me to the infirmary."

"Can I see it?" Phil asked, walking towards Dan, and sitting on the bed next to him.

Dan reluctantly let Phil carefully grab his arm.

Dan winced when Phil grabbed it. Phil started checking to see if it was broken.

"You're different," Dan said. He seemed confused, and frankly, so was Phil. He didn't understand why Dan was suddenly being kind to him.

"So are you, but that doesn't make either of us any less human."

Phil finished looking at Dan's arm, and looked up at Dan.

"I think you broke it," Phil said.

"No shit, Sherlock." Dan replied flatly.

There it was. This was the Dan he met when he first arrived at Apharce.

That was when Dan noticed Phil's hands were glowing, and that Phil was still holding his arm.

"Phil what the hell!" Dan almost screamed when Phil finally realized.

Dan pulled his arm away from Phil.

"Shit," Dan's tone was close to shouting.

"What? Did I hurt you?" Phil asked, worried he injured Dan further.

"No. It doesn't hurt anymore," Dan whispered.

"Did I just-"

"You can't tell anyone about this. Not even Clark or Liguori. And certainly not Baker. You can't tell  _anyone_  that you have a third ability. You're in more danger than you already were now. If you find out you have any more abilities, find me. Don't tell anyone anything. Just come and find me."

"W-what does this mean?" Phil asked.

"The government and Apharce have a scale for how dangerous we are. One ability is fine, two is questionable, three is dangerous, four is extremely dangerous, and five...well, lets just say the government has no issue with killing someone with five abilities. I have four, and you have three. As long as no one finds out you have three, you should be okay. If you find out you have any more, find me, and we'll figure something out."

"I thought you said that the only person everyone here cares about is themselves," Phil smiled.

"I just don't want you to end up in the position I'm stuck in."  
  


* * *  
  


Phil pulled the extra mattress out from under his bed and tried to convince Dan to take his bed, but Dan insisted that he would take the extra mattress. Dan knew he couldn't go back to his room that night, or he would be put in the same position as earlier again.

"You're the one that took me to the infirmary, aren't you?" Phil asked Dan as he got into his bed.

"How'd you know?" Dan asked.

"The note in my shirt pocket. It matched up with everything you just said about Baker."

There was a pause before Dan spoke.

"I want you to meet me in the woods tomorrow at one in the morning, and I'm going to help you with your abilities. You need to not give as much effort with Baker. He gives training to those who he thinks the government would classify as dangerous. He's giving you your training because he thinks you might be hiding some of your power. He's going to try to make you cave in, but you can't let him make you."

"Okay. If you want me to be in the woods at one AM tomorrow, you have to let me sleep," Phil said, looking down from his bed at Dan, who was laying on the mattress Phil had pulled out.

"Fine," Dan said as Phil laid down, and closed his eyes.

Phil had seen a new side of Dan that night: the side of Dan that wasn't as vile and heartless as he let on to everyone around him. That side of Dan seemed to be the real Dan. 

Phil hoped this side of Dan would shine through more often.

 


	4. Chapter Four

Phil woke up to see Dan still asleep on the mattress on the floor. Phil smiled, and looked at the clock. It was five minutes to nine. They had five minutes to get dressed and make it to breakfast.

 

"Dan," Phil whispered, "we're gonna be late to breakfast."

 

"Five more minutes," Dan mumbled.

 

"Fine. I'm going to breakfast, you can come when you want. Just lock the door to my room."

 

"Mhm," Dan mumbled before rolling over and falling asleep again.

 

* * *

 

Phil sat down across from Dodie and Pj when he finally made it to breakfast.

 

"What took you so long?" Pj asked.

 

"I was up late last night," Phil replied nonchalantly.

 

"Anyway, did you hear what happened with Howell?" Dodie asked, brushing off Phil's general answer.

 

"No," Phil replied, nervous about what Dodie would say next.

 

"Apparently he set fire to a delivery truck, and now the professors can't find him." Dodie said.

 

"Shit," Phil mumbled.

 

"What?" Pj asked.

 

"I'm gonna to to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

 

Once Phil was out of sight of the dining hall he ran up to his room. When he got there, Dan was starting to walk out the door but Phil shoved him back through the doorway, closing the door behind him.

 

"Phil what the h-"

 

"They professors said that you set fire to a delivery truck, as in the truck that was going to take you away, and now they can't find you. I don't know what we can do, but we have to do something."

 

There was a knock at the door.

 

"Mr Lester, it's Professor Baker. Can you please open the door, I need to talk to you about another student." The voice came from outside Phil’s room.

 

Shit, Dan mouthed. Phil panicked, and looked around his room until he noticed the closet. He silently ran over to it, opened the door, and Dan hurried into the closet, closing the door behind him. Phil shoved the extra mattress back under his bed, and opened the door to Professor Baker and two other teachers.

 

"Hello, sir," Phil said, trying to hide his nerves.

 

"We would like to talk to you about a certain student, Mr Howell. He set fire to a delivery truck last night and disappeared, we were wondering if you knew where he went."

 

"No, sir. The last time I saw him was class yesterday."

 

"Are you sure, Mr Lester?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

Professor Baker paused. "Thank you, we will be on our way."

 

"Goodbye." Phil closed the door behind them, and coughed, signaling Dan to come out.

 

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Dan asked Phil.

 

"Sneak down to breakfast? They won't cause a scene if you're around people, it would give them and their motives away."

 

"Okay." Dan paused. "Can you come with me?"

 

"Yeah. You nervous?" Phil asked.

 

Dan nodded.

 

"It'll be okay. And if they try to hurt you again, I'll give them hell again."

 

"How are you so kind to me? After how much of a jerk I was to you?"

 

"We're friends. We fight for each other."

 

Dan smiled when Phil mentioned that they were friends.

* * *

Phil woke up to the sound of his alarm at twelve forty-five in the morning, and quickly shut it off, making sure not to disturb other sleeping students. He threw a hoodie on over his tee shirt and put a pair of boots on, carefully making his way out of his room and down the corridor.

 

Once he had made it outside the castle, he felt safer knowing he was out of view of everyone inside of Apharce. He continued to walk towards the forest, and noticed as snowflakes started to fall to the ground. As more came down, the snowflakes started to stick to the grass. Phil wasn't expecting it to snow, and he definitely wasn't prepared. He was only in pajama pants, a hoodie, and boots.

 

Phil still carried on, making his way into the forest, finally finding Dan in a clearing after five minutes of walking.

 

"What took you so long?" Dan asked.

 

"What do you mean?" Phil asked, his voice rising slightly in pitch.

 

"Did you fall asleep before?"

 

"What? of course I did!"

 

Dan sighed.

 

"Anyway, to start, I just want you to grow some flowers. Start simple, we'll work our way up in difficulty."

 

Phil nodded, and only realized he was shivering when he touched the snow ridden ground.

 

He closed his eyes and tried to make some form of flower grow, but nothing happened.

 

"I don't know why it isn't working," Phil said, his voice shaky from how cold it was.

 

"You look freezing," Dan said softly.

 

Phil smiled weakly.

 

Dan paused, then spoke.

 

"I'm such an idiot! I should have realized! My ability to control fire keeps me warm even in the snow, but I forgot that it wouldn't happen for you. Come on, let's get back into the castle, we can come back another night."

 

Phil nodded as they walked towards the castle. They weren't even out of the forest when alarms went off. They were coming from Apharce.

 

"Shit!" Dan whispered, and pulled Phil back into the forest, and back to the clearing they were in.

 

"What the hell was that?" Phil asked, still shaking from the cold.

 

"They're looking for us."


	5. Chapter Five

"We can't go back yet, once the alarms stop we can go back. If we go back now, the reinforcements that they called in from the government like they generally do when they see I'm missing will most definitely take us, because they can test how many powers you have just by the cuff that dampens you powers. If they ask us any questions when we do go back, I'll take the blame for it. The story is that I went into the forest, and you tried to find me, and that it's my fault you were out here, okay?" Dan asked.

 

Phil only nodded.

 

"You look frozen, Phil. Sit down, I'll make a fire."

 

Phil obliged, and sat on the trunk of a tree that had fallen in the clearing. Dan began to gather materials to make a fire, and once everything was set up to make a fire, he held his hand over the setup. Flames shot out of his palm, quickly igniting the branches and leaves.

 

Dan sat next to Phil, and Phil put his head on his shoulder. Phil could tell that Dan could feel him shaking, because Dan lifted Phil's head off of his shoulder momentarily, taking his jacket off and placing it on Phil's shoulder.

 

"Are you sure you won't need it?" Phil questioned.

 

Dan nodded. "Like I said, because of my ability to control fire, it constantly regulates my body temperature in the cold. I'll be okay, don't worry about me." Dan smiled.

 

Dan wrapped his arm around Phil, and Phil moved closer to Dan. Phil realized he liked being in Dan's arms. Dan smelled of vanilla and spearmint, and it reminded Phil of home, and how his home somehow always smelled of vanilla and honey, even after the candles were blown out.

 

Phil realized he might like Dan. And not just as a friend.

 

"You're warm," Phil mumbled, pushing the thought he had aside. Now wasn’t the time for analyzing his feelings.

 

Dan laughed softly, and grabbed Phil's hands. Phil realized how warm they were, and that Dan was probably making them that warm on purpose, so Phil could feel a little warmer.

 

"Is that any better?" Dan asked softly.

 

Phil nodded.

 

What felt like forever in silence passed, Phil trying to keep as warm as possible. It could have been actual hours, but Phil wasn't quite sure.

 

"Can I tell you a story?" Dan asked, breaking the silence.

 

Phil mumbled a "yes", and Dan continued.

 

“I can't believe I'm telling anyone this." Dan took a deep breath. "So, when I was about fourteen, I was scared out of my mind about having any sort of powers and having to be sent to this literal hell of a school. I tried to keep that fear hidden, but a friend of mine found out. He decided it would be funny to start a rumor that i had powers, and it ended up being that week's story that every table during lunch was talking about. In that moment, I wished for everyone to forget, and they did. That was when I realized I'm omnikinetic, and I found out by wiping a whole school's recollection of a certain memory.

 

"I was terrified, and after school I practically ran home crying. I told my mother everything. Without hesitation she sent me here."

 

"I'm sleepy," Phil mumbled, interrupting Dan.

 

"No, Phil, no. You have to stay awake, okay?" Dan started to plead.

 

"I'm awake, I'm... I'm just cold."

 

"I know, Phil. You're gonna be warm soon, okay? I promise."

 

Phil didn't respond.

 

"All I'm trying to say is after that I shut everyone out. But you were different. I opened up to you." Dan paused. "I opened up to you, because for the first time since I was eleven, someone cared about me, Phil."

 

Phil smiled weakly.

 

The alarms stopped.

 

"Phil? Come on, let's go back in. We're gonna get you warm okay? You won't be cold anymore, we just have to get inside."

 

Phil was asleep.

 

"No, no! Phil, wake up!" Dan grabbed both of Phil's hands.

 

"Please," he croaked.

 

That was when Dan's hands glowed. They glowed just like Phil's did when he healed Dan.

 

Phil opened his eyes.

 

"Dan?"

 

Dan threw his arms around Phil.

 

"Thank god," Dan mumbled.

 

"How-"

 

"I think you somehow transferred your ability to me for a minute, and that's how I healed you," Dan concluded. "But it doesn't matter right now. We'll worry about it later. You're still not completely warm, so we should get you back to your room."

 

Phil nodded, and Dan helped him up after putting the fire out, leading him back to the castle.

 

* * *

 

When they got to Phil's room, Phil pulled out another sweatshirt and warmer pajama pants, and went into the bathroom to change. He got into bed, and covered himself in all the blankets in the room. Dan made sure Phil was okay before he started to leave.

 

"Dan?" Phil asked as Dan started to open the door.

 

"Yeah?" Dan asked.

 

"Can...can you stay?" Phil was quiet.

 

Dan nodded. "Do you want me to pull out the extra mattress again?"

 

Phil didn't respond, he only moved over in his bed, and that was the only response he gave before falling asleep. Dan grabbed an extra blanket from the wardrobe and placed it over Phil before climbing into the bed himself.

 

Dan set his head on the pillow, making sure to leave enough room between him and Phil. He tried to sleep, but instead of sleeping, he started thinking about Phil.

 

Thinking about how kind Phil was to him despite how cruel he was to Phil. Thinking about how Phil trusted him after everything that he'd done (that always managed to be talked about during meals at one table at the least).

 

Thinking about how, without hesitation, Phil risked his life to save Dan's.

 

Phil was fully asleep when he rolled right into Dan and his head ended up nuzzled against Dan's shoulder.

 

Dan didn't dare move, he didn't want to disturb Phil.

 

The last thing Dan thought about before he fell asleep was how Phil was the only person at Aphrace who even bothered to say hello to him.


End file.
